Chapter 1617 – 1617. The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated Into The Baek Family
Clang!
Sword and blade clash.
I’m confident in my strength, but the undead Ention’s power was beyond imagination. He’s much stronger than when he was human.
Ention swings his sword mightily, as if to shake me off. I couldn’t withstand the difference in power.
‘My speed is a bit faster, but… I’m lacking in strength and stamina. I’m not sure about mana.’
I’ve experienced his strength firsthand, so the difference was clear. As an undead, he wouldn’t tire, of course. As for mana, Ention was constantly maintaining his aura blade. The aura blade, reeking of foul mana, showed no sign of wavering.
Clink, clink.
The dragon tooth soldiers, scattered all around, rush towards me.
‘The problem is, these guys aren’t easy to ignore either.’
They charge in, wielding swords imbued with aura, not caring about their own safety. If I had Stormbreaker, maybe, but right now, I’m practically defenseless.
Ention wasn’t just watching either. He swings his sword. A pitch-black crescent-shaped aura blade cuts through the air, flying towards me. Having been watching Ention from the start, I dodged the attack by running to the side.
Ention’s aura blade swept up and shattered the dragon tooth soldiers. Ention didn’t care whether his allies died or not.
“Son, you’re like a rat. How long will you keep running? You’re the one smearing the name of the Prukerus family.”
“Father, you’re the one smearing the family’s name. The former head of the family becoming an undead and a lackey of a dragon? If that gets out, the family’s honor that I’ve worked so hard to raise will plummet to the ground.”
“You too will serve Leosio-nim. Just as I have.”
“I refuse. I have no intention of becoming an undead who can’t even get laid!”
[Using Flash. Remaining stacks: 4]
I dash forward. I dodge the incoming aura blade by a hair’s breadth. I abandoned defense. It would take too long to go while defending.
Swish!
The aura blade grazed my ear. The thrill was far beyond any horror movie, and cold sweat ran down my back.
‘But I succeeded. I closed the distance.’
Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) Thunder Flash (雷光).
A red flash of current flickers.
My target is Ention’s heart.
Ention’s sword draws a semicircle. It moved slower than my sword, but it blocked the blade aimed at his vital point.
‘…It moved a beat slower but efficiently. He used the reach and thickness of the sword.’
My attack wasn’t over yet.
I extend my left hand forward. The current gathers and rotates, and the current in front of it rotates in the opposite direction.
Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) Dual Resonance (二重共鳴) Myriad Thunder Spiral (卍雷螺旋).
The myriad thunder shot out like a laser, piercing Ention’s abdomen. With a gaping hole in his body, Ention didn’t groan in pain but immediately swung his sword. Since he doesn’t feel pain, he doesn’t flinch even when the attack is successful. That’s the advantage of being undead.
And it was also a disadvantage. Not feeling pain also means that the sense of danger is dulled.
[Using Flash. Remaining stacks: 3]
I use Flash to dodge Ention’s attack and counterattack. Ention had two choices. Either retreat and defend, or attack with the intention of dying together.
I would choose the latter. Because I’m confident I won’t die. In fact, I’ve had quite a bit of fun with the mutual destruction tactic, believing in complete recovery.
‘As expected.’
Ention chose to attack, disregarding his own body.
I wasn’t at all flustered since I knew it was coming. I took a step forward, narrowly dodging Ention’s attack, and at the same time, I sliced Ention’s neck with my sword.
Ention’s body stiffened, and his head fell to the ground.
“To cut off your father’s head… There’s no other unfilial son like you under this sky.”
“Does he not die even if you cut off his head because he’s undead?”
I stepped on his head and cut his body in half with my sword.
I was about to turn around, confident in my victory, when one of the dragon tooth soldiers nearby suddenly turned to dust and disappeared.
A chilling murderous intent flowed down my neck. I instinctively moved my body to dodge the sword aimed at my back.
“You have good instincts.”
The Ention I had just destroyed was standing there.
“…What kind of trickery is this?”
“Everything is for Leosio-nim.”
A pitch-black aura blade surges. I grit my teeth.
[Using Flash. Remaining stacks: 2]
I barely dodge Ention’s attack and slip into his arms.
‘If he doesn’t die by normal means… how about this.’
Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) Ultimate Technique (極技) Sealing Thunder (封雷)
The blade pierced Ention’s solar plexus. Crackle. Sealing Thunder flowed through the blade. Sealing Thunder sealed Ention’s mana. It worked. Ention’s aura blade immediately scattered under the influence of Sealing Thunder.
‘If you die in this state, even you won’t be able to do anything.’
I swing the Fire Lotus Dagger, cutting Ention’s body into pieces. I stepped on the fallen guy’s head and crushed it. The fragments flew everywhere.
“I killed him for sure. He can’t get up now…”
I shut my mouth. A dragon tooth soldier nearby turned to dust, and then Ention’s severed body parts gathered together, taking their original form. It was as if time was rewinding.
I rushed in before Ention could become whole. I thrust my blade into his torso.
“It’s useless.”
Ention swings his sword. Startled, I quickly retreated, but the sword grazed my left forearm.
I frowned. The pain was bearable. What was bothersome was that something was trying to penetrate me from the wound.
Crackle, crackle.
Lightning burned whatever was trying to penetrate.
‘Is it a curse?’
Fortunately, thanks to my quick response, there was no significant damage.
“I wonder how long you can hold out.”
His tone was as blunt as Ention’s. But his attitude and eyes were completely different. The relentless sword strikes were like a machine, and his eyes gleamed with murderous intent and hatred.
[Using Flash. Remaining stacks: 1]
I used Flash to counterattack. This time, I cut off his head. I also divided his upper and lower body.
Again, the dragon tooth soldiers turned to dust and disappeared, and Ention returned to his original body and launched an attack.
Even after seeing this repetition, I couldn’t not know what the problem was.
“You’ve done something to the dragon tooth soldiers.”
“It’s all the arrangement of the great Leosio-nim!”
The dragon tooth soldiers stopped rushing at me and stood in a circle, watching.
If I kept fighting like this, there would be no end.
I created some distance from Ention and shouted towards the sky.
“Sharnel! Use magic to wipe out the dragon tooth soldiers at once!”
There was no answer. But I could feel a large amount of mana gathering above my head.
“Hmm. I had momentarily forgotten that you’re not alone.”
Ention swings his sword towards the sky. A black aura blade targets Priscilla’s massive form. Priscilla moved her wings to gain altitude and dodge the aura blade.
“Your opponent is me!”
I rushed at Ention. Ention’s sword was aimed at me. I dodged the sword he swung. It wasn’t just because my eyes were good. It was because I knew about Ention’s swordsmanship.
‘I’m also a Prukerus. Of course, I know the Prukerus swordsmanship.’
It’s just that it doesn’t suit me, so I don’t use it.
‘The Prukerus swordsmanship focuses on defense. Ultimately, it aims for offense and defense as one.’
But no matter how skilled an aura master is, attacking and defending at the same time is impossible unless the timing is right.
‘Ironically, Ention has given up on defense. Since he’s become an undead who doesn’t die, he obviously doesn’t need defense.’
Ention, who was called the guardian sword of the Rapelli Kingdom, no longer had anyone to protect. He was only focused on attacking.
‘Thanks to that, it’s not difficult to find the timing for a counterattack. The problem is… no matter how many times I kill him, it doesn’t end.’
I focused on hit-and-run tactics. But no matter how focused I was, my opponent was an aura master like me. And an aura master who had abandoned defense to kill me. As time passed, the wounds on my body gradually increased.
‘Sharnel. What is she doing? I told her to wipe out the dragon tooth soldiers.’
Is she planning to gather mana for the rest of her life?
I shook off the blood dripping down my left arm onto the floor. I opened my mouth to urge Sharnel, but Ention didn’t stay still.
Thud! Bang! Clang!
He used his solid fundamentals to push me with force. I could only retreat further and further, blocking Ention’s sword.
‘Thunder!’
The red lightning flowing through the blade entered Ention’s body. It was meaningless. The undead guy didn’t stop even when electrocuted.
‘Damn it. Should I just ask Priscilla and Yuria for help?’
I felt heat from above.
Ention also stopped moving, sensing the change.
A red line fell from the sky. It fell like a laser and ignited flames as soon as it touched the ground. The bright red flames burned the bodies of the dragon tooth soldiers. The falling red lines weren’t just one. They were falling in volleys towards the dragon tooth soldiers.
Flames soared. I was also affected by the heat. Sweat trickled down my forehead.
It was hard. It was hard, but I could smile. It was because the dragon tooth soldiers were dying from Sharnel’s magic. Of course, the dragon tooth soldiers weren’t doing nothing. They were thrashing around to put out the fire on their bodies. They were rolling on the ground or digging into the ground to try to get inside.
But Sharnel’s flames were not ordinary flames. They didn’t go out even when the dragon tooth soldiers dug into the ground.
“Ention. I’m not alone.”
“Yes. You have good comrades. And you’re at the center of it. Son, die for Leosio-nim!”
Ention rushes at me through the flames.
[Using Flash. Remaining stacks: 0]
I stabbed through Ention’s opening. I stabbed Ention’s neck and slashed downwards. Ention’s body trembled. He tried to forcibly lift his sword to strike me, but soon the hatred and murderous intent in his eyes faded.
“You should have used the dragon tooth soldiers to overwhelm me from the beginning.”
“I would have if there were no interruptions.”
“Interruptions?”
“…Son. Thank you.”
Ention collapses.
I was flustered by his sudden words. When I looked at Ention again, his body had already turned to dust and disappeared. Ention’s tormented soul also disappeared somewhere.
“……”
